RICHMOND, Va. -- The plaintiffs have rested in the case against a New Kent children's hospital and its former medical director.
Forty-six former patients are suing the Cumberland Children’s Hospital, its owner Universal Health Services (UHS), UHS of Delaware (UHS-D), and Dr. Daniel Davidow for $930 million.
The three female patients in this first case, claim Dr. Davidow inappropriately touched them during femoral pulse exams.
The final two plaintiffs took the stand Wednesday in emotional testimony.
First to take the stand was plaintiff EC, (plaintiff’s initials) who testified she grew up in a low-income family in Brooklyn, New York where the first generation American currently lives with her parents, sister and niece.
She said she struggled with her body image so she would make herself throw up. She said at first, she kept it from her parents but at the age of 12 she knew she needed help. When her bulimia and her anxiety got severe her physician placed her in Bellevue Hospital in New York.
She eventually got referred to the Cumberland Hospital.
EC testified after arriving at Cumberland Hospital and going through her treatment plan with her team and family she was taken to an exam room with Dr. Davidow for her admission exam.
She said it looked like an “abandoned” room. She said the lady in the room with them was facing the door. She said Davidow started caressing her hair and asked her if she had ever had sexual relations. She said she had with someone her age. She said he then started cupping her breasts for “what felt like an eternity.”
She said Davidow told her he then had to take her pulse.
She explained he unbuttoned her pants with ungloved fingers that were “really cold.” EC said Davidow inserted his ungloved fingers in her vagina and that’s when she testified that “my body crawled inside myself.” She said Davidow said he couldn’t find her pulse because it was too weak and she explained when talking about his fingers, “he just kept them in there.”
Civil attorney Kevin Biniazan asked EC if Davidow asked EC permission to put his hand there. She responded, “No.” She explained, “He just said he was going to put his hand down my pants and he just did it.”
EC testified that she recalled being examined by Davidow three other times after she was admitted. She said she was assaulted those times but he did not touch her breasts and there was not a chaperone in the room. When cross examined, she could not provide a date, or time or who took her to the examination room she could only say it happened during the day.
EC testified that when she showered, a Cumberland staff member would sit in a chair in front of her to monitor her and say things like, “I would die for your body.”
EC testified that her “body was constantly in fight or flight mode.” She said the hospital cut off all communication with her parents after she was admitted.
EC said, “I felt broken. I felt damaged. I felt no matter how far I ran from Virginia there were still gashes all over me. I stopped growing” She also said, “What I thought would be helpful ended up ruining me.”
In cross examination, attorney Michelle Gambino referenced EC’s social media posts to infer she’s not “broken.”
She referenced pictures of her at a concert with friends, in the Dominican Republic with family and her birthday celebration.
Gambino also pointed out that EC had no problem making complaints at Cumberland about other issues but she didn’t about the shower incident or Davidow.
Davidow’s attorney Bob Donnelly asked EC if she ever reported the incidents and she said “no.”
Next to take the stand was former Cumberland psychotherapist Brittney.
When asked by Biniazan how many times she took complaints about Davidow she said, “More than I can remember” and that she took those complaints to her supervisor.
Plaintiff HB (her initials) was one of Brittney’s patients.
Biniazan showed Brittney a note from HB's medical chart that Brittney authored that said HB was “uncomfortable” during her admission exam with a male doctor. Davidow was the only male doctor employed at Cumberland. Brittney testified that HB had used the word “uncomfortable” to describe past sexual abuse she had experienced before being admitted at Cumberland.
Brittney testified that she recommended that during admission exams at Cumberland that the physician, the witness and the patient sign off that everything with the exam went “good” but she testified that the hospital did not follow through with her recommendation.
In cross examination Brittney testified that if a patient would have mentioned anything about Davidow penetrating them, she would have indicated that in her notes.
Plaintiff HB testified that she lives in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and has a four-year-old son.
She was raised from the age of seven by her grandmother. A psychiatrist testified that her grandmother’s boyfriend lived with them and used to sneak into her room when she was in second grade and sexually abuse her. She said he made her perform oral sex and raped her. She also testified that she was sexually abused by a boyfriend when she was older.
HB was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, PTSD and major depressive disorder and was referred to the Cumberland Hospital for what she said was supposed to be a “diabetic boot camp.”
When she arrived at Cumberland, HB said she had her admission exam with Davidow.
She said she was lying on the exam table with a paper sheet on the bottom of her. She said her pants and underwear were off and bra and shirt were on. She said he did a pulse check.
She testified, “Dr. Davidow placed finger on outer labia, switched sides, and finger touched sensitive part when he switched sides.”
HB said it was not an appropriate touch. She said at first there was someone in the exam room and then that person left. She said the door was shut. She said she doesn’t remember if she had a breast exam but she does remember “skin contact.”
HB said she did not report anything the day of her admission exam but she did tell her grandmother that she was not appropriately touched and she did not feel safe at Cumberland a few days later.
HB was part of a group therapy session that was the subject of a CPS investigation which led to an April 2017 police report. That probe ultimately determined those allegations were unfounded. She testified that when she was asked by DSS about the allegations against Davidow she felt she couldn’t be 100% truthful for fear of retaliation.
In cross examination, an audio recording that was taken by former Cumberland risk manager Matthew Wiggins was played. HB was not aware she was being recorded. Wiggins had her call her grandmother in 2017 to alert her about the allegations. She mentions she felt uncomfortable with the exam, she mentions the femoral pulse and how Dr. Davidow touches her shoulders.
Also, in cross examination, pictures were shown of HB with her aunt and grandmother at Cumberland. Both pictures showed her smiling.
When Donnelly started questioning her about the admission exam she broke down and he stopped the questioning. The questioning was also stopped when Gambino attempted her cross examination. HB tearfully left the courtroom for a break.
HB then responded to Gambino that she didn’t remember responding "no" when she was asked as a Cumberland patient, "Was her exam with Davidow sexual in nature?"
HB’s admission to Cumberland was supposed to last no longer than three to six months. Biniazan asked her how many birthdays she spent at Cumberland. She broke down in tears and answered, “two.” HB was hospitalized for 401 days.
The defendants will start calling witnesses Thursday. Davidow is expected to testify as a witness for the defendants. The trial is expected to run through September 27.
Davidow was found not guilty of felony sex abuse charges involving two other former Cumberland patients in New Kent County back in April.
CBS 6 investigative reporter Laura French has been covering this case for the last five years. She’s in the courtroom for the three-week trial. For live updates follow her on X @lfrenchnews.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
